


The Second Wife

by DesertVixen



Category: Craobh-Oir agus Croabh-Airgid | Gold Tree and Silver Tree (Fairy Tale)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Introspection, Logical Backstory, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 04:49:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14663661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: The story of Ruby-Blossom, the Second Wife





	The Second Wife

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DaisyNinjaGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaisyNinjaGirl/gifts).



The prince had sad eyes.

It was the first thing Ruby-Blossom noticed – not his handsome face or impressive build, not his opulent clothing or the beautifully decorated hall – but how his polite smile failed to reach his dark blue eyes. Instead, they seemed filled with sadness, like clouds full of rain.

She had never seen such sadness in another person’s eyes.

Ruby-Blossom knew the story of course – how he had been married to a beautiful woman from a far-away land, and how they had lived happily – until she had been found dead. The story of how he had searched for answers, of how he had grieved.

She knew that there was no romance, no love in this arranged marriage. She was a spare royal daughter of no great beauty or dowry. He was a prince in need of a suitable wife. Ruby-Blossom hoped he would find her pleasant to look at, with reddish brown hair that fell around her hips and great gray eyes, but she knew she could not match the loveliness of his first wife, Gold-Tree.

Instead, Ruby-Blossom decided that she would try to bring laughter to his eyes, to put a real smile on his face. She would make him comfortable, even if she did not expect to touch his heart.

When he came to her that first night, she found he did not need the opulent clothes to be pleasant to look upon. She enjoyed the sensations of his lips and body against hers, and felt that he had enjoyed their physical intimacy as much as she had. But when she awoke in the morning, she was alone, and Ruby-Blossom knew that she had been right not to think that they had shared anything more.

That didn’t stop her from hoping they would eventually share more – or that he would continue coming to her at night.

*** 

As she fit herself into his life, Ruby-Blossom learned many things. She learned all she could about her husband – what he liked or disliked, how the rhythms of palace life flowed. Her mother – one of her father’s royal concubines – had taught her the value of keeping a man comfortable, and she put those lessons to good effect. But she learned other things as well.

She learned that their royal suite didn’t just appear to be newly decorated, but was newly occupied. Even so, she couldn’t help but notice that he always came to her room at night, rather than inviting her to join him in his bed.

She learned there was a suite of rooms that was kept locked always, and careful listening to servants revealed that these were the rooms he had brought his first bride home to, the rooms he had loved her in. She learned that he carried the key with him always, in a pocket close to his heart.

She learned that he loved to ride early in the morning and began to join him. She rejoiced when one morning’s ride ended with them tumbling together beside a shady, secluded pool. Lying there together on the soft grass, the horses grazing nearby, their hearts pounding, she saw him smile – really smile – for the first time. It was lazy, satisfied, and inspired her to pull him down so she could feel his smile against her lips…and make him smile again.

She could admit to herself that she had fallen in love with him and felt that he had grown to care for her. Ruby-Blossom told herself to be satisfied with what she had.

Still, she longed to hear him laugh.

Then, one day, she found he had somehow dropped the key. Perhaps there was a hole in the pocket, or perhaps the ribbon had frayed. However it had happened, she knew she had to open the door, to see the rooms that were so important he kept them locked.

What she found behind that door changed everything.

She had made him laugh, but she had also resurrected the woman he truly loved.

She had won and lost at the same time.

Yet, Ruby-Blossom knew that she would not change any of her actions. She might wish for a bigger piece of the prince’s heart, but she could not have left the poor poisoned woman there, not when it was within her grasp to do something. And seeing the joy on his face, hearing his laughter as he embraced his first wife made her happy. That was love, she thought, the desire for the person you loved to be happy, even if it meant you were not.

It was painful to make the offer to leave, knowing that she would be going back to her father in disgrace, but she told herself it was the right thing to do. Instead, the prince told her that he wanted her to stay.

And she wanted to stay, so badly.

So she did.

It was strange at first, but Gold-Tree was not only beautiful but kind as well, the friend that Ruby-Blossom had always wished for, but never had. 

Somehow, jealousy did not enter into the equation. Ruby-Blossom continued her early morning rides with the prince, time that belonged to the two of them alone. By the same token, he never came to her at night, but danced with Gold-Tree in the moonlight. Ruby-Blossom was certain that the servants thought their arrangement quite strange – concubines were one thing, but a prince with two wives was something else – but she did not care. 

They were happy, all three of them together. Perhaps they would not always be, Ruby-Blossom told herself, but they were happy now.

***

And then, just when they had dared to believe that all would be well, Silver-Tree arrived in her long ship. Although the older woman said all the right things, Ruby-Blossom could see she harbored hatred for her daughter. So she watched her carefully, to see how that hatred would show itself.

The cup made her instantly suspicious. Ruby-Blossom had grown to womanhood in the women’s quarters of her father’s palace and witnessed the lengths some women would go to in order to achieve victory. Poison had been a common weapon, and she had been all of nine the first time she saw a woman die from it. The victim had been a young woman blessed with beauty and kindness, but not an overabundance of brains. She had accepted a beverage from a woman who saw her as a rival, a poor decision. She had died suddenly, face blue and eyes staring, and Ruby-Blossom had never forgotten the lesson. 

Ruby-Blossom had guessed the cup Silver-Tree brought was unlucky, but when she saw the oh-so-careful way the older woman lifted the cup and appeared to drink, she knew. She could not bear the thought of Gold-Tree lying lifeless at her feet, or the grief of the man they both loved. 

So she acted, forcing Silver-Tree to drink the same poison she had intended for her daughter. 

It was Silver-Tree who fell to the ground, lifeless. 

And Gold-Tree and Ruby-Blossom who lived long happy lives with their prince and their children, lives full of laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like it! I enjoyed the story and playing with your prompt, and enjoyed giving the second wife a story to live happily ever after in. 
> 
> I decided to name her Ruby-Blossom to keep with the general theme.


End file.
